Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to a water or flood control device, or method of making, assembling, or using the water or flood control devices, or a kit therefor.
Background Information
A flood generally refers to an overflow of water from a river, lake, or other body or expanse of water. When the water overflows, it escapes its normal boundaries, and flows onto normally dry land.
There are various causes of floods. As one example, runoff from sustained or heavy rainfall, or rapid snow melt, may cause the water level in a river to rise until it exceeds the capacity of the rivers channel, which may cause a flood. As another example, an obstruction, such as, for example, ice or a landslide, may obstruct a river channel, which may cause flooding upstream of the obstruction. These are just a few examples. As yet another example, a flood may occur when a levy or dike is damaged.
Such floods, especially when they occur in populated areas, are generally undesirable. The floods may cause significant damage to homes, businesses, vehicles, farms, and the like. In addition, in severe cases, the floods may place human life at risk.
One commonly used approach to attempt to lessen the effects of a flood involves the use of sandbags. Sandbags, which are also sometimes referred to as floodbags, generally refer to sacks made of hessian/burlap, polypropylene, or like materials, which are filled with sand or soil. The sandbags may be brought in empty to a location where a flood is occurring, or may potentially occur, and filled on site with local sand or soil. Once filled, the sandbags may be placed, and in some cases stacked in multiple levels, along a boundary of a body or expanse of water, such as, for example, a river bank. Sandbags generally tend to prevent or at least reduce the effects of a flood.
However, one potential drawback with the use of sandbags is that the sandbags tend to be relatively slow and labor intensive to deploy. Each bag generally needs to be filled with sand or soil on site, which may take a significant amount of time.
Accordingly, alternate ways of reducing the effects of floods, or preventing the detrimental effects of flood waters, or alternate flood control devices and methods besides those based on sandbags, would offer certain advantages.